Luna Park

I took the boys to the new Luna Park on Coney Island. It's built on the site of the old Astroland, which closed a couple of years ago. It's named after the original Luna Park, which was one of Coney Island's three magnificent amusement parks at the turn of the 20th century.

The lowdown:

1) The rides are new. The place is clean. It reminds me how much I disliked crappy old Astroland. Astroland was like the 90-year-old aunt who never bathed, but out of respect for the family legacy you pretended she didn't smell so bad.

2) I appreciate the nod to the old Coney Island--the way they incorporated icons of the original Luna Park in the new park's entrance. The photos below were taken directly across the street from one another--100 years apart. Kinda cool.





3) Not to be a downer, but it's still surrounded by derelict buildings and a beach littered with glass. So calling it "the new Luna Park," even in tribute, is like calling Justin Bieber "the New Frank Sinatra." It just feels kinda wrong.



But, hey, you can't please everyone.